Gift of a Lifetime
by soprano-in-waiting
Summary: A unknown nin gave Minato the gift of a lifetime the night of the sealing. The only question he has is, "Why?"  Timetravel, death, potential spoilers? Now two-shot.
1. The Beginning

Gift of a Lifetime ~

I do not own Naruto whatsoever, but I would settle for Minato and Shikamaru….

Minato crouched down, shielding his son from the explosion as the tags detonated within the shelter. Sensing no chakra signatures within the rubble, he reached out and found the marker seal at his home, disappearing in a flash.

Gently, the young Hokage laid the newborn in the center of his crib in their home.

'_You'll be safe here. You'll have to wait on your own for a little bit, Naruto…I've gotta go save your mom, before it's too late.'_

Minato studied the face of his young child, trying to memorize it before turning away to rescue his wife. A loud wail broke the silence. A soft step approached him from behind. He whirled around, kunai in hand to face the intruder. A sharp blow to the head sent him collapsing to the floor. All he saw was a nin in an ANBU mask, as Naruto's cries and everything else faded into silent darkness.

O0o0o0O

Minato woke to the light streaming into his bedroom. He groaned as he sat up in bed. Tension filled him as the images from the night previous began to filter back.

'_Kushina! Naruto! Oh, no…'_ He panicked, ready to run out after them.

A glimpse of yellow stalled his actions. There next to him, lay his son snuggled securely in blankets next his red haired love. Quickly, but carefully, he rushed to the other side of the bed. He cautiously lifted the blankets to examine her seal. The seal was inactive, but that's not what surprised him. Attached to her abdomen were seal tags.

"What the…." He whispered in confusion. The blonde Hokage's brow furrowed as he examined the unusual formula. The script was unfamiliar to him.

"A healing seal?" Minato had never seen anything like it before, which made it all the more intriguing. A groan broke him out of his examination, reminding him that he needed to find out what happened, but first, he needed to make sure his family was ok.

With a hand sign, two identical blondes were standing next to the bed. One gently lifted Kushina into his arms, while the other gathered the bundle of blankets that held his son. In a flash they were gone.

O0o0o0O

Minato waited in a chair next to his unconscious wife in the hospital room. His head rested on his folded hands, braced against Kushina's bed.

"Congratulations, kid," A gravelly voice intruded on his thoughts.

"Sensei," Minato replied, never moving from his vigil.

"How's she doing?" Jiraiya inquired, approaching his student.

"Kushina's doing fine, all things considered. The doctors said it's a miracle. She _should_ be dead by all rights." He said. "The only reason she isn't is because of this." Minato held out one of the tags he had found on his wife that morning.

The toad sannin grabbed it, and began to study it. "Who made it? I've never seen anything like this in my travels, and I can identify the script of every seal master in the Elemental Countries."

"No clue. I…" Minato hesitated. "When we were attacked at the safe house, I used my jutsu to take Naruto back to the compound. I figured with all the seals and other safeguards he'd be safest there while I went after the man in the mask. I was about to leave when a man in an ANBU mask attacked. I woke up to Naruto and Kushina next to me in our bed." Minato finished in a low tone.

"There was an unknown _in your house?_" Jiraiya exclaimed. "How the hell did they get in? You have that place sealed tighter than a tomb."

"I have no idea. I examined the wards this morning. None of them had been triggered. The only people who can get in are members of my family, my team, and you, so it's still a mystery at this point in time."

"Mystery indeed." Jiraiya muttered. "How's your son?"

A tired smile crossed Minato's face as he thought of his little boy. He got up from his seat, beckoning the white haired man to follow. After a few turns, they arrived in the nursery.

"Hokage-sama," A nurse addressed the man with a short bow before leading him to a crib. Inside lay a blue bundle of blankets with tiny wisps of blonde hair peeking out. The nurse gently lifted the baby out, and placed him in his father's arms before leaving the trio alone.

"Sensei, meet your godson. Namikaze Naruto." Minato beamed while cradling Naruto.

"You're seriously going to saddle the kid with a godfather like me? You're just asking for trouble." He chuckled softly.

"Here. Hold him." Minato urged, shifting the boy from his hands into Jiraiya's. "Watch his head."

"He's so…_small._ Then again, you are a shrimp, so he's probably just taking after you." Jiraiya teased, dodging a half-hearted hit.

"Baby!" He cried.

"And that's the only reason you're not in pain right now." Minato glared, before he turned his attention back to his son.

"There's something else I wanted to show you." Minato glanced around. Seeing no nurses around them, he pulled back the blankets until he could see Naruto's stomach. Said child squirmed at the sudden cold air.

With a touch of chakra, a pattern of black spirals and kanji appeared. Jiraiya almost dropped him out of surprise. "Is that…?"

Minato nodded sharply. "Somehow, after the Kyuubi was released from Kushina, it ended up sealed within Naruto. I found it after I got to the hospital with him, along with the whisker marks on his face. The chakra I surrounded us with to transport us must have activated the seal to the point where it was visible. I've had ANBU scouring the scene where the Fox was attacking, but they haven't reported back yet. Only Sarutobi and I know that Naruto is the new vessel, and I'd like to keep it to as few as possible." Minato said in a quiet, yet firm tone.

Naruto began to squirm in the loud man's hold, before crying out in protest. Quick as a wink, a nurse appeared to see what was wrong. She determined Naruto was just hungry before settling Minato down with a bottle and the proper instruction on how to feed him.

Jiraiya smiled at the unlikely scene. The Yellow Flash, the Bane of Iwa, gentling holding his newborn son and grinning like a fool the entire time. The scene was soon disrupted by the sudden appearance of an animal masked nin.

"Hokage-sama," The nin muttered in respect as he bent down on one knee.

"Report."

"After searching the scene of the attack, two bodies were found. There was little evidence at the site, beyond the expected destruction. The bodies are now in the morgue, awaiting your inspection."

With a sigh, Minato looked down at his satisfied, and now sleeping, child. He reluctantly handed him off to the nurse before heading down to the morgue.

O0o0o0O

The chill air raised the goose bumps on Minato's arms as he approached the two bodies laid out under the sheets. Lifting the first sheet, the orange mask of his attacker met his sight. Continuing down, numerous stab wounds littered the body, along with one deep slash that had pierced the ribs and punctured the heart and lungs beyond repair.

"These were attached to his back." The ANBU informed him, holding out two seal tags. Upon further examination, the script matched those found on his wife.

"There's more, sir...This man was an Uchiha. He possessed the sharingan, although I am unfamiliar with this particular formation." The masked man informed his hokage. Minato nodded in accord. He knew that. He had seen it when the masked man had attacked in the safe house.

Moving on to the next table, Minato gasped. It was his attacker. Dirt and blood crusted over his clothes and formerly blonde hair.

"They were found next to each other. These seal tags were found in his kunai pouch. The script matches those used on the other attacker. From what we can tell, the blonde fought the Uchiha, killing him, before dying of unknown reasons."

Minato pulled back the rest of the sheet. The uniform was a perfect match to the ANBU, but he had never seen the mask before.

"A fox. A bit ironic, considering the events of last night. He wasn't part of the corps, was he?" Minato stated, more than asked.

"No, sir. There is currently no Fox in commission. When I checked to see if someone had stolen the mask, it was still hanging in headquarters." The nin replied.

"Time to see just who you are." Minato whispered, while reaching for the mask. The porcelain released from the blonde's face as he pulled.

The Yondaime Hokage's eyes widened as he took in the features of the body before him. Whisker marks decorated the once tan cheeks. Marks identical to those on his newborn child who was sleeping in the nursery.

"What on earth is going on here?" Minato breathed out.

"Sir?" Minato shifted his attention to the ANBU. "There appears to be some sort of storage seal on the inside of the mask."

Scanning the interior of the fox shaped porcelain proved the nin was right. With the application of chakra and a puff of smoke, a small scroll appeared.

'_Namikaze Minato. It's for me?'_ Minato read, while placing the mask on the chest of the ANBU impersonator. With the sound of parchment, he unrolled the scroll, and began to read.

'_If you're reading this, I've most likely accomplished my goals. I may be dead, but because of it, so many more will live. The man who released the Kyuubi was Uchiha Madara. A man of vast amounts of power, but also man pushed over the edge of insanity in the pursuit of more power. Believe me when I say that the world is better off without him. I ask that the Uchiha clan is not held responsible for the attack. They had no knowledge of Madara's actions. _

_You're probably wondering who the hell I am. In my lifetime, I only met you briefly, and you have never known me in yours. I'm from a future that I hope will never be, and have assured with your survival._

_I apologize for attacking you, but we both know that you're too damn noble to let another fight your fight, especially with your village and family on the line. If I hadn't, both you and Kushina would have died, and Madara would have continued his insane quest. Kushina and Naruto should both have been safely next to you, when you woke up. I used a shadow clone to transport them back to your home, away from the destruction._

_You've probably already found the seal on Naruto. Only half of the Kyuubi's chakra is sealed into him, the yang portion. The other half I will take with me into the belly of the Shinigami, as payment for the Shiki Fuuin. He's a hero, and I pray that the villagers can accept that. I stabilized his mother with seals, hopefully she recovers. (Feel free to reverse engineer them, they're lifesavers, literally.) _

_A child should have the love and protection of his family while he grows. Take care of Naruto. Teach him. Nurture him. Help him grow strong. _

_Live a happy, and if at all possible, long life. Take care of Konoha, and hopefully one day we'll meet again._

_All my love,_

_Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto,_

_ANBU Captain Fox_

_Rokudaime Hokage, elect_

_P.S. Don't forget to introduce little Naruto to the awesomeness that is ramen! Or so help me, I'll find some way to haunt you!'_

As his mind struggled to grasp what the letter was trying to tell him, Minato studied the face of the man, no, his son, before him. With a more careful eye, he caught the slight upturn of his lips. He was smiling.

"At least you died happy, Naruto." Minato whispered, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Sir, your wife is awake." The ANBU informed him, from behind.

Stuffing the letter in his pocket, he exited the room to join his wife and son, vowing to keep his family safe, to honor the sacrifice of his son that had saved them all.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0O

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this little story. I know there are several other shorts out there like this, but this is my spin. After nearly a year of reading other Naruto stories, (the good, the bad, and the downright crack), I finally had an idea that I could do justice to. I just love Minato and it makes me cry thinking of what he could have had.

I did set up a forum, offering up other ideas for adoption, the link is on my profile.

Thanks go out to my lovely editors/idea bouncers: Tora-Hime-Melody, Mokimo, and Spiffy. Without whom this story would not have been posted or proofread.

Once again, thank you for reading! Any feedback is greatly appreciated, but please, only leave negative criticism if it has helpful advice with it. Tearing people down does nothing unless you can help them build themselves back up stronger than before.


	2. The Ending

Still don't own Naruto, but I do have a Shikamaru bear. ^_^

The late afternoon sun shone down warm upon the earth. The song of the birds and the subtle harmonies of nature joined to form a peaceful symphony of sound. Gentle breezes ruffled the blonde threaded gray hair of the napping figure. He lay sleeping in a green, grassy field dotted with rows of stones.

"Grandpa, wake up! "A young voice cried, as a young child used both hands to roughly shake the figure into awareness. "Grandpa!" The little girl whined, until finally, the wrinkled lids opened to reveal unfocused blue eyes.

"I'm up. I'm up." Minato yawned, carefully raising himself onto his elbows. A tattered brown book, pages dog-eared from many years of use fell from his chest to the ground.

"Were you reading to Grandma Kushina again?"The little red head asked him, eyeing the book.

"She's the only one who will listen to me read this story anymore."

"That's not true! I like it when you read to me." She pouted.

The old man chuckled. With a groan, Minato got to his feet. Small shreds of grass fell from his robes as he brushed himself off.

"Oh, thank you, Mai." He smiled, taking the faded brown book from his granddaughter, and tucking it safely within a pocket.

"Can we go now? Mama said it's almost time for supper, and I'm _starving!_" Mai grabbed the old man's hand and tried to drag him away.

"Just one minute Mai. I have to say goodbye to your grandmother first. Why don't you wait for me by the gate?"He asked.

"Okay!" Mai agreed, skipping to the gate, red piggy tails bouncing along.

A familiar smile crept across his face, blue eyes crinkling as he watched the energetic child run along.

"_Every day, she gets more and more like you, love. I hope you're watching over us, wherever you are. Hinata's probably waiting on us. I'll see you soon, Kushina." _The former hokage bent over, and touching his fingers to his lips, left a kiss on the smooth stone with a brush of his fingertips.

A few moments later, he found Mai, sitting in the shade of the wall surrounding the cemetery, making leaves dance around her fingers.

"Now what do we have here? "

Light blue eyes looked up in surprise before the young face beamed with a huge smile.

"Aniki showed me."

"I think I'm going to have a chat with your aniki when we get back." Minato muttered. "It's a long ways to the Hokage tower. Let's do your okaa-san a favor and go fetch your daddy."

"Can we use the Flash?" She begged. Sky blue eyes swiftly changed into the dreaded Puppy-Dog Eyes no Jutsu. Even a kage, retired as he was, couldn't resist that technique.

He conceded defeat with a sigh, gathering her close to him.

"Alright, but hold on tight."

Mai latched on to him like a lifeline, and with a yellow flash, they disappeared.

O0o0o0O

Minato reappeared to the sight of beloved blonde deeply engrossed in a report. Red and white robes clearly denoted his current position as the reigning hokage of Konohagakure. Minato pressed his fingers to his lips, signaling Mai to stay quiet. Giggling silently, she nodded her understanding. The old game was on. They waited quietly, watching Naruto as he read.

Releasing a sigh, he tossed the stack of papers onto his messy desk.

"How long have you been there?" Naruto asked, leaning back into the chair.

"Oh, a few seconds. Maybe you should hand the hat over to Jiraiya already. You're getting dull if you didn't notice us come in." Minato teased his son.

"I'll give him this hat when he stops blowing up the backyard on 'accident'"

"I remember a certain blond boy doing much the same thing not long ago." He continued.

"Really? " Mai exclaimed, eyes alighting on her dad in hero worship. "Did Grandma Kushina get as mad at Daddy as Okaa-san does at Jiraiya-niisan? Mommy doesn't like it when she has to fix the garden after he sparks outside."

"Spars, Mai, not sparks." Naruto corrected.

"Oh, I don't know, he has been sparking a lot lately." Minato laughed.

"True," The blonde Godaime acknowledged with a wry grin. "I still wish I knew where the he…heck he got that lightning affinity. Between my wind and Hinata's water, out jumps Jiraiya."

"Affinity isn't necessarily hereditary, son. Chakra mixes spiritual and physical energy. A person's affinity would reflect, in part, any outstanding aspects in their personality. It's also why most shinobi don't develop secondary and tertiary affinities until they reach jounin rank. Their maturation allows for a more complex personality and exploration of their own selves. In fact, according to Housei's _Theoretical Discussion of Spiritual Chakra_…"

Minato's monologue was interrupted by a loud growl. Looking down, he saw Mai grinning sheepishly.

"I told you I was hungry."

Minato and Naruto laughed.

"We better get you something to eat then, ladybug." Naruto announced, getting up from his chair and grabbing his hat, and scooping up his daughter in his arms. "Grab on, Dad. No arguments." Naruto cut off his father before he could protest. "You used Hiraishin to get here in the first place, and I know that takes a lot out of you these days."

"I may be getting on years, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless!" Minato retorted.

"Dad, if nothing else, do it to help quiet the tiger that Mai swallowed." Giggles exploded from her as Naruto tickled her stomach. "Hinata-chan won't let us eat until everyone's there. Please?"

Minato could clearly see where his granddaughter had learned her devastating technique.

"Fine." Minato laid a hand on his son's shoulder, and once again, the room was emptied in the blink of an eye.

O0o0o0O

"Dad?"

The retired Yondaime was pulled from his thoughts. Looking up, he caught the worried eyes of his son and daughter-in-law.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay? We've been trying to get your attention for a bit."

"I'm fine. Just the tired thoughts of an old man." He smiled softly. "When you get to be my age, all that's left for you are years of memories and a good bottle of sake."

"That's not true, Minato. You've got Naruto and I, and the kids. They still love to listen to your stories, even if you are an 'old man'" Hinata reminded him as she hugged him from behind, before grabbing his namesake before he could reach the stack of dishes on the table. Minato watched his grandson try to wriggle from his mother's grasp fondly as the events of this afternoon came back to him.

"Oh, Naruto, you might want to have a chat with Jiraiya about what he shares with his siblings. I caught Mai manipulating leaves around her fingers this afternoon while she waited for me at the gate to the cemetery. Come to think of it, you should probably talk to her too. If she's starting to use chakra already, she'll need to be grounded in the rules before she kills herself from exhaustion." He said.

Naruto arched a golden eyebrow at what his father was telling him. "Manipulation at her age, with her only training from a genin. Don't care who you are, that is impressive. I wouldn't be worried about exhaustion though, if she's anything like me, or her grandmother," He acknowledged with a nod of his head, "she'll have monster reserves."

"You and your mother had….extenuating circumstances. It's true the Uzumaki clan had particularly large reserves by nature, but I'd still feel better if there was someone watching her. Who knows what else she'll learn from Jiraiya-kun. I hear Hinata's had to hire a genin team a time or two to put the yard back in order." Minato teased the younger man.

"Don't remind me." Naruto groaned. "I've talked to him time and time again about experimenting with jutsus in the back yard, but he won't listen. I'm the freaking hokage and he won't listen to me."

"Son, you should know by now that when it comes to your children, they see you as father first, hokage second. Consider it payback for your own ill-conceived ideas."Minato replied mischievously.

"You're having way too much fun watching me go through hell with him." Naruto accused.

"Kami knows raising kids isn't easy, teenagers especially, but the joy of seeing your child grow into a respectable young man is a blessing you can't beat. All joking aside, you're doing a good job with him, with all of them. Jiraiya, Mai, and even little Minato." Naruto shared a smile with his father as they sat in companionable silence, listening to everything settle as evening grew on.

A wide yawn split Minato's face, forcing him to recognize his fatigue.

"I should head to bed. This 'old man' will see you in the morning." Minato announced, rising from his place by the table.

"I should go help Hinata with the little terror." He laughed softly. "Good Night, Dad. Love you." Naruto told him.

"I love you too, son." Minato replied with a loving smile.

After finishing his nightly routine, he slipped under the covers and minutes later, was soundly asleep.

O0o0o0O

Minato awoke to moonlight illuminating his small bedroom. As if moving in his sleep, he flung his arm over the side of the bed to brush the ground, and found no chakra signatures outside those of his son and his family. Letting out a tense breath, he rolled onto his back to stare at the full moon through his window. Another restless night.

"Legend says that the Rikudo Sennin sealed the Juubi's body up there."

Minato turned his head to see the source of the strange voice, only to feel ice water flood through his veins.

"N-Naruto?" He whispered. He rubbed his eyes, and still he saw Naruto, yet not the Naruto that was sleeping a few doors down. This Naruto was garbed in the standard ANBU uniform with a Fox mask hanging from a loop on his belt.

"I would say 'in the flesh' but that seems rather inappropriate, now doesn't it?" The spirit joked.

"You're dead. I saw your body thirty-nine years ago." Minato spoke, as his brain tried to rationalize what his eyes were reporting to it.

"It's been that long already? I guess time passes differently in the afterlife." The ANBU mused.

"Wait. How can you still exist? There can't be one soul in two bodies. It would be impossible." Minato questioned, his wrinkles more pronounced than before.

"I'm not sure to tell the truth. I wasn't sure what would happen when I traveled back, but I've had plenty of time on my hands to think. The best I can come up with is this. Each person is shaped by their experiences. The moment I appeared in this timeline, I changed everything, thus changing Naruto. I'm not an exact duplicate of this world's Naruto anymore. I can guarantee that. He's never had to wonder whether his parents loved him or not, or whether they abandoned him. He's never had the undeserved scorn of an entire village heaped upon him. " Naruto paused. "I don't want to make you feel bad," Naruto assured him, seeing the hurt in Minato's eyes, "That's just how I grew up. It made me into who I was, so I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm just using that as an example. We may have started out with the same potential, but with those and many other differences in our experiences during our lifetimes, our souls diverged into completely different people. We may share similar tastes, like the shared love of ramen, right?" Naruto pinned the old man with a glare. Feeling the spiritual equivalent to killing intent, he swiftly nodded.

"Good." The younger replied with a smile, as if nothing had happened. "But yeah, essentially you have two sons named Naruto in this world."

"I see." The elder Namikaze replied slowly. "What are you doing here now? I thought the Shiki Fuuin sent your soul to the shinigami's stomach?"

"Apparently performing a potentially suicidal time travel jutsu to go back in time to save not only your parents, but also hundreds of thousands of lives before they were ever endangered was something Kami deemed worthy of waiving the penalty for the seal. The shinigami wasn't entirely happy per se, but even he can't argue with Kami." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he ended his explanation, a little embarrassed at what he just said.

"I was also offered the chance to be your guide." He finished.

"Guide?"

"To the afterlife. You did what I had asked of you, and have had a long, happy life. Now it's time to go." His ghostly son smiled sadly, holding out a hand to his father.

Minato grasped his hand, feeling a cold ripple move down his body as his soul left his earthly shell. With one last look at his now still body, he turned to Naruto.

"I'm ready." He said firmly.

"Good. Mom's been bugging me since I showed up there if I knew when you would be joining us. Something about wanting help to hunt down Ero-sennin."

"Ero-sennin?" He quirked a ghostly eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Jiraiya. I told mom how he had helped me unlock Kyuubi's power the first time around, and she's been waiting for you ever since to get her revenge on him." The whiskered young man laughed.

"Do I want to know?"

And with that, Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, husband, father, and grandfather, passed into the afterlife, leaving a lifetime filled with the love of his family, many friends, and his people.

-O0o0o0O-

A/N: Hi everyone. I know I said this was a oneshot, but I made a deal with Tora-Hime that if I got 15 alerts I would add a second chapter bookending things, so here it is.

This chapter is dedicated most of all to my lovely friends: Mokimo, Tora-Hime-Melody, and Spiffy. It is also dedicated to the memory of a very dear family friend who passed from this life to eternal life this last week.

Same old rules apply. Please leave any comments, questions, general impressions, but only negative criticism if you offer helpful advice. It's not productive to rip people to shreds if you can't help them make something better from the rags left behind.

P.S. I have no more ideas, so this is the absolute end this time :P

Adios muchachos

Edit: as of 9/22/2011, there is a side story with what happened when Kushina passed over, if you're interested.


	3. Omake  Naruto, meet Naruto

Don't own Naruto, I do own a Shika plushie though.

Many decades later, Konohagakure woke up to the sad news that their Godaime Hokage had passed away in the night. The Rokudaime had declared a day of mourning to honor his predecessor, who had passed the reins over sixteen years previous. While black bands were beginning to be seen on arms in the streets, strange events were occurring in another plane.

O0o0o0O

Namikaze Naruto awoke to a sunny clearing. A few swift observations later brought him to the stunning conclusion that he wasn't in Konoha anymore. A footstep on hard ground caused him to spin around to face the newcomer. His eyes narrowed on the dusty path leading into the meadow. A nin in a standard ANBU uniform stepped out into the sunshine. The Godaime's gaze surveyed the nin, from his sturdy, yet flexible footwear, to his sheet of chest armor. His blood froze when he saw a very familiar pair of blue eyes gaze back at him in amusement.

"What the _hell?_" the hokage whispered under his breath, face frozen in shock.

"You're not one of my clones, are you?" He asked as his wits returned to him. His focus still glued to the blonde haired, whiskered man in front of him.

"No, not at all. Although, a change in wardrobe and you could be mine." The ANBU shot back.

"Hang on a second. I know I didn't have any siblings, and you say you're not a clone, just who the heck are you?" Godaime exclaimed.

The Anbu quirked an eyebrow at him. His eyes slid shut as he wiped his hand over his face.

"I swear, if he wasn't already dead…" The fox ANBU muttered.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The hokage asked, having caught the mutters.

The fox-nin looked at him for a moment.

"You know what? I shouldn't have to explain this to everyone he kept in the dark. DAD, GET YOUR ETHEREAL BUTT OUT HERE!" The other blonde yelled.

The Godaime's brow wrinkled in confusion. A few seconds later his eyebrows shot up into his hairline at the sight of his long gone father coming down the path.

"Naruto, I know you're loud, but that's ridiculous." Minato groused.

Namikaze Naruto became even more confused, if that was even possible.

"But, I didn't sa-"He started, stopping suddenly as he realized his dad hadn't been speaking to him.

"Naruto? Just who are you?" The Godaime hokage asked again.

Minato glanced to the fox nin, hoping for help.

"Oh no. I had to try and explain this to mom, this is all you. You're the idiot that didn't tell _anyone_ about what happened after all. I would have thought you had the sense to at least tell Mom and this Naruto." The ANBU argued, waving his hand at the third blonde, watching their rather odd interaction.

Minato, eyes begging tried to get him to change his mind. Seeing that the other one wasn't moving an inch, he gave up and turned to his successor.

"Fine." The elder Namikaze pouted.

"You see, son, I wasn't entirely truthful about what happened on your birthday…"He started.

A few moments later, a hysterical yell broke the peacefulness of the clearing.

"HE'S ME?"

A/N: I swear this has to be the last little bit that I got for this story . I don't *think* I have anymore major plotholes to fill.

There is a reference to a side story called "Gift of a Lifetime: Kushina's Passing" that I posted as a separate story, since I didn't think it really fit.

On a side note: I had an idea and if anyone wants to take it up, go for it.

Naruto already has incredibly luck. What would happen if he drank Felix Felicis?

Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope you have a great week.

Soprano-in-waiting


End file.
